Piston ring



a R..// M 3 m/ v 5 N./ 3, -l n 4 l f M Hi mj/ QW 2, -l IIA ra 6 f .4TH/l e s w mm o l 5 H. M 2 l H N P m w 4 m S D F P H d e n0 H u F 4 ElII-IIIIII 1 I 5 Il' 9 1 'Il 6.. 1| h H m a M Patented Mar. 6, 1951PISTON RING Harold P. Phillips, Hastings, Mich., assigner to HastingsManufacturing Company, Hastings,

Mich.

Application December 20, 1948, Serial No. 66,180

2 Claims. (Cl. 309-45) This invention relates to improvements in pistonrings.

The main objects of the invention are:

First, to provide a piston ring assembly which is highly efficient fromthe standpoint of effective sealing and oil control.

Second. to provide a ring assembly in which there is no gap openingthereby providing effective sealing and preventing blow by.

Third, to provide a ring assembly which provides improved tensioning ofthe ring segments against a cylinder wall. f

Fourth, to provide a ring assembly of the above type in which the partsthereof may be readily and cheaply fabricated and readily assembled in apiston ring groove.

Objects relating to details and economies of my invention will appearfrom the description to follow. The invention is pointed out and definedin the claims.

A preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view of a piston, ring and cylinder in assembledrelation, the piston and ring being shown in side elevation and thecylinder being shown in section.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing in vertical section thepiston. ring and cylinder in assembled relation.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the cylinder wall engaging sidemembers of the ring assembly.

In considering the accompanying drawing itshould be borne in mind thatno attempt has been made to show the parts in their relative proportionand where associated with the piston to show the clearances and relativedimensions.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated I designates the cylinderand 2 the piston of an internal combustion engine. The piston isprovided with a groove 3 in which is disposed the ring assemblydesignated generally by the numeral 4.

My improved ring assembly comprises a pair of spaced thin steelexpansible upper and lower ring side members 5 and a spacer member 6 foraxially spacing the upper and lower side members. Each side member isformed of one contlnuous piece of flat steel stock coiled edgewise intoslightly less than two complete coils, the ends 1 and 8 of each sidemember being circumferentlally separated as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Theilat stock is of high unit contact steel and is relatively thin beingbetween approximately .010 and .020 oi' an inch in thickness, andpreferably approximately .013 of an inch in thickness. Use of this verythin steel facilitates the production of the ring side members withoutpreformedkinks between the ends 1 and B thereof, before installation ofthe ring side members into the ring groove. The ring side members byreason of their thinness assume the kink formation between the ends land 8 as shown at 9 in Fig. 1 after installation into the ring groove.Also such degree of thinness facilitates the production of nearly twocomplete turns in each of the side members 5 without increasing theaxial dimension of the ring groove and without reducing the axialdimension ol' the spacer member 6. The use of two coils in each ringside member and the use of one such ring side member above the spacermember and another below the spacer member eliminates the necessity ofan inner or expander ring and avoids groove depth problems. The cylinderwall engaging faces of the ring side members 5 are chrome plated, theplating I0 having the cylinder wall engaging surface thereof curved inthe arc of a circle, the radius of the arc of curvature being notgreater than approximately .045 of an inch to provide a hair linecontact I I with the cylinder wall. The outwardly curved surfaces of theadjacent superimposed convolutions provides an annular oil receivingpocket III therebetween.

The spacer member 6 is of the split annular expansible type disclosed inmy Patent No. 2,404,862 of July 30, 1946. It is formed of ductilesheetsteel, folded upon itself into a plurality integrally connectedplies or folds disposed in side by side relation, the upper ply I2 beingflat and f supportingly engaging the upper ring side member 5, and theremaining lower plies being conformed to provide alternate spacer anddrainage reaches I3 and I4 respectively. The drain reaches I4 providepassageways through the ring assembly for passage of oil therethrough tothe rear of the assembly and then to the oil drain openings I 5 in thepiston wall.

I have described and illustrated an embodiment or adaptation of myinvention which I iind highly satisfactory. I have not attempted toillustrate or describe other embodiments or adaptations which Icontemplate as it is believed that this disclosure will enable thoseskilled in the art to embody or adapt my improvements as may be desired.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A piston ring assembly comprising spaced expansible side ring membersand a spacer member intermediate said side ring members, each side ringmember comprising a relatively thin ribbon-like strip of metal coilededgewise into two substantially complete superimposed convolutions theends of the coiled strip being circumferentially spaced and a centralportion of the strip being disposed circumferentially between said ends.said central portion and the adjoining portions thereto disposed inoverlapping relation to the ends of the side member having asubstantially uniform vertical rise throughout the length of saidcentral and adjoining portions prior to installation of the ring memberinto a. ring groove, said strip of metal being relatively thin tofacilitate ready flexure of the same at the ends of said central portionadjacent the ends of the side member when the side member is installed`in a ring groove, the outer edge of the coiled strip being chromeplated and curved outwardly to provide a hair line contact with acylinder wall, the outwardly curved surfaces of the superimposedconvolutions providing an oil pocket therebetween.

2. A piston ring assembly comprising spaced expansible side ring membersand a spacer member intermediate said side ring members, each side ringmember comprising a relatively thin ribbon-like strip of metal coilededgewise into two substantially complete superimposed convolutions theends of the coiled strip being circumferentially spaced and a centralportion of the strip being disposed circumferentially between said ends,said central portion and the adjoining portions thereto disposed inoverlapping relation to the ends oi the side member having asubstantially uniform vertical rise throughout the length of saidcentral and adjoining portions prior to installation oi the'ring memberinto a ring groove, said strip of metal being relatively thin tofacilitate ready ilexure of the same at the ends of said central portionadjacent the ends of the side member when the side member is installedin a ring groove, the outer edge of the coiled strip being curvedoutwardly to provide a hair line contact with a cylinder wall, theoutwardly curved surfaces of the superimposed convolutions providing anoil pocket therebetween.

1 HAROLD P. PHILLIPS.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,052,077Bristow Aug. 25, 1936 2,068,114 Solenberger Jan. 19, 1937 2,091,947Cords Aug. 31, 1937 2,128,372 Marien Aug. 30, 1938 2,260,612 Fall Oct.28, 1941 2,367,159 Van Der Horst Jan. 9, 1945 2,436,227 Phillips l. Feb.17, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 517,531 Great Britain Feb.1, 1940 858,706 France oi' 1940

